Collage: April
A collage is a monthly summary of Olla’s news. The key themes of April’s news were sustainability, circular economy, and learning environments.
DHL’s new logistics center receives BREEAM Excellent environmental certification
The BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating is Europe’s leading construction environmental rating system. The rating system calculates and assesses the total environmental impact of a building. The new DHL logistics center completed at the beginning of the year in Sipoo, Finland, received an Excellent-level environmental rating, which is the second-highest level in the five-tier BREEAM system.
The logistics center designed by Olla for DHL is massive in size but not in its carbon footprint. In fact, the 44,000 square meter center (equivalent to six soccer fields) is completely carbon-neutral, which is in line with DHL’s environmental goals.
Oulunkylä primary school is expanding – with the extension and renovation designed by Olla, the primary school and daycare will form a campus-like learning environment
The extension of Oulunkylä primary school and the new daycare were unveiled at the turn of the month. The cast-in-place concrete surfaces bathed in the spring light.
The extension uses the same architectural concepts as the old school building being renovated: window types and layout, brickwork, and pitched roofs are of the same typology as the old school. Together, the buildings form a sheltered, campus-like area that will serve as a learning environment for over 700 children.
The extension of Oulunkylä primary school will be completed next fall, and the renovation will be finished at the turn of the year 2024.
Kaikukatu 3 as an example of circular economy at expert events in Turku and Mikkeli
Olla’s renovation project Kaikukatu 3 was featured at the Regional Planning Day organized by the Southwest Finland ELY Center (Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment), which focused on environmental issues from various perspectives. The event addressed topics such as biodiversity, building conservation, and the circular economy. In the Kaikukatu 3 project led by Olla, the circular economy principles of avoiding, reusing, reducing, repairing, remanufacturing, and recycling have been ambitiously applied.
The reuse of windows from Kaikukatu as interior glass walls was also presented at the Construction Circular Economy Days in Mikkeli. The KIELO (Circular Economy Leap to Improve the Reuse of Building Materials in Mikkeli) project organized the event in collaboration with the City of Espoo and the Helsinki Circular Economy Cluster. The day was aimed at professionals working in construction, demolition, design, and decision-making, as well as anyone interested in the circular economy. The event gathered nearly 200 participants on-site at the Mikkeli City Hall, Espoo Otaniemi, and via Teams.
How is a 1970s building sustainably and ambitiously renovated into a modern office property? Read more about Kaikukatu 3 here.
